March 31, 2017

Its been a while since our last post, and its been a busy time since then. So lets get started.

The Buffalo show went well. Sunday was definitely a lot busier and we talked to a lot more people. The hit of our display of course was the Woodings motorcar. The Woodings has been out of service for quite a while, and went in for engine repairs upon returning to the Falls after the Buffalo show. More on that later.

The 17th Annual Niagara Model Railway Show has also come and gone during this time, and it was a great show. Vendors from across Ontario, selling all scales of model trains, artifacts and historical displays. The G Scale Vineland Siding Bluetooth controlled switching layout was a hit with the kids.

The Museum’s live steam Pacific made an appearance at the show again.

The NRM sales table was fairly busy at the show.

Golden Horseshoe Live Steamers display.

Restoration work continues at the shop with the Plymouth diesel still the main focus. Most of the windows have been reinstalled, with just 2 frames left to clean and paint. Adam has been working on cleaning off the surface rust on the carbody, a slow process, but he is making progress. This is some of the first work this locomotive has had in a few years. Elsewhere in the shop, Ken has been working inside the office, installing drywall and a ceiling so we can get our office back in order. Another week and we’ll be starting to get things cleaned up and organized around the site. Not too long now until our opening weekend in May.

Conductor side sliding windows back in place.

The Woodings back on track on March 31st.

The Woodings CBI Railcar was taken in for repairs after returning from display at the Buffalo show in February. The car hasn’t run for at least 5yrs, and was in need of motor repairs. After 2 months, and countless hours, the car fired up and ran. There is still some tweaking to do, mostly adjusting the throttle and choke, but overall, having the car running again will make it a great addition to our 2017 activities.

There is so much going on out at the Museum this year as we hit our 20th Anniversary. We have our usual open weekends in May and July, but will also be open on Canada Day as we celebrate Canada’s 150th Birthday. We will also be open Saturdays from June to October, with our big event, Rail Days, taking place on September 9/10. We have many more surprises in store this year, so we hope you’ll join us in Fort Erie at the Niagara Railway Museum.